Topline
President Donald Trump issued a travel ban barring people in 12 countries from visiting the U.S., attributing his proclamation to national security concerns and public safety.
The proclamation was made Wednesday evening. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Trump’s proclamation fully restricts travel from the countries of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Partial travel restrictions have also been placed on Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The travel restrictions apply to both immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the U.S., according to the proclamation.
Trump said he directed members of his Cabinet to identify countries with “deficient” vetting and screening information that warrants “a full or partial suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”
The proclamation cites visa overstay rates for most of the impacted countries and cites terrorism concerns with Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Cuba and others.
Trump’s Cabinet will be in charge of submitting reports to Trump within 90 days of the date of the proclamation, and every 180 days after, recommending whether any of the travel suspensions or limitations should be “continued, terminated, modified, or supplemented.”
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Key Background
Trump instituted a similar travel ban during his first term in 2017, banning travel from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen in what became known as the Muslim travel ban. The travel ban was challenged in court, though the Supreme Court later ruled in favor of the ban, which was expanded to cover North Korea and Venezuela and Chad. This week’s travel ban is one of several anti-immigration policies introduced by Trump during his second term. This year, the Trump administration has sought to ban international students from enrolling at Harvard University, ramped up mass deportation flights, declared a national emergency at the southern border and pulled thousands of visas from international students in the U.S.
Further Reading
White House Now Claims More Deportations Than Under Biden—But Struggles To Prove It (Forbes)
Can Trump Deport Immigrants Without Due Process? What To Know After President And Stephen Miller Suggest They Can (Forbes)
Trump’s New Defense For Violating Immigration Orders: A Different Agency Did It (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/06/04/trump-bans-travel-from-12-countries/